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Engaging men and boys to challenge gender norms

Engaging men and boys is crucial in challenging negative social norms and gender inequalities in their own lives, as well as in their communities and societies more broadly. Gender roles are established at an early age, typically favoring men. Boys may be conditioned to believe that dominant behavior towards girls and women is part of being a man.

Because FGM is a manifestation of deeply entrenched gender inequality, it is important to encourage men and boys to advocate against harmful practices, and address the power imbalance and cultural misconceptions on the role of men and women.

UNFPA and its partner Care developed a tool and curriculum on engaging men and boys specifically on FGM programming, based on existing evidence and previously tested tools, with the support of the Royal Norwegian Embassy. The tool is adapted to the Egyptian context, and tailored to the issue of FGM.

Men and boys were trained on gender and positive masculinity under the curriculum, with sessions covering topics related to abuse, self-image and identity, concepts of masculinity and femininity, power dynamics, gender-based violence, harmful practices with a focus on FGM elimination and the impact of violence on men and women and anger management.

Below are the stories of two of the men who are standing up for gender equality in their communities.

Photo credit: Roger Anis/UNFPA Egypt

Zanaty El-Sawy returned home one day and told his wife he needed to discuss an important matter. Going against the social norm in his Upper Egypt village in the governorate of Assiut, Zanaty told his wife that he does not want to subject his two daughters to FGM. Despite still being three years and four months old respectively, Zanaty had come to learn that FGM had been negatively impacting the lives of the women and girls of his community for generations. “I am always interested in educating myself and expanding my horizons,” Zanaty says, “I have daughters so I decided to research the topic of FGM.”

Hussein Shehata and his wife are confident in their decisions when it comes to raising their daughters – the most important of which is not to subject them to FGM. Challenging the social norms and the collectiveness around the decision of maintaining the practice of FGM, Hussein states, “Why would anyone question our decision? It is my decision, and it is one that is grounded in medical and religious evidence.”

Zanaty did not hesitate when he was invited to attend a 4-day workshop tackling FGM and other forms of violence against women and girls supported by UNFPA Egypt’s partner NGO Care. “I learned about the harmful impact of FGM on women and girls and that it has no religious or medical foundation,” Zanaty says, adding that against all odds and what was the social norm in his community and family for generations “I found out it is not a necessary practice at all.” “This is something God created, why would I cut it?” he asks.

“Women have rights just like men,” he says, “they should have a say just like men.” Zanaty now himself is an ally in the fight against FGM, making headway in eventually changing negative social norms. He advocates for women’s and girls’ rights and choices among his male family members and his peers. He believes men bear the responsibility of talking to their peers about the harmful practice. Through his quest to educate himself on the topic, Zanaty acknowledges that by subjecting girls to FGM “we are destroying their future.” As he highlights the need to protect girls, his three-year-old Yara daughter runs in and hugs him. “Who do you love most? he playfully asks her, “your father?”

Hussein attended awareness sessions targeting men and boys, tackling concepts of masculinity, power dynamics, with a focus on harmful practices. In the sessions, Hussein says, he learned about the harmful and long-term impact of FGM on girls’ and women’s psychological and reproductive health. The sessions were eye-opening to Hussein, he regrets subjecting his two eldest daughters to FGM. “It was just tradition,” he says, “we thought we were protecting girls’ chastity.” Back then, Hussein recalls, doctors did it in secret. “Doctors wanted to protect themselves, so they usually do it after hours,” he says.

Now Hussein says he understands that not only is the practice illegal, it has no medical or social necessity. “FGM has no benefits, it only has a harmful impact,” he says. Hussein and his wife have taken it upon themselves to relay the knowledge they acquired about FGM to family members and neighbors. People they talk to are generally receptive and decide they will no longer continue this practice in their households, Hussein says. He calls for more awareness sessions and hopes for this kind of knowledge to be more widespread. “We shouldn’t stay in the dark,” he says, “we should always strive to change for the better.”